https://theweek.com/science/health/1001136/how-the-pandemic-ends

New cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are plummeting. What will it take to declare victory over COVID-19?

Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesTHE WEEK STAFFJUNE 6, 2021Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare via Email

New cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are plummeting. What will it take to declare victory over COVID-19? Here’s everything you need to know:

Is the end near?Virologists are cautiously optimistic that by late summer, COVID-19 cases and deaths in the U.S. will fall so dramatically that life will return to near normal. Today, 135million ­Americans — more than half of all ­adults — have been fully vaccinated, and in 10 states, 70percent have received at least one dose. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that 100million Americans gained some immunity by surviving coronavirus infections (including asymptomatic ones). As a result, the pandemic is already exhibiting “exponential decay.” That’s a rapid plunge in transmission that occurs when the…